Harlequin style

"The New Works of Laura DiNello" is on display at Grand Bohemian Gallery at The Mansion on Forsyth Park.

Posted: Wednesday, April 19, 2006

ANGER MOTIVATED ARTIST LAURA DINELLO to develop her signature mosaic-like painting style in 1990. After she became upset with a loved one, she cut up his portrait and eventually decided to glue the fragments onto a fresh canvas to create a brand new composition. She varnished the surface, developed her trademark look and never looked back.

"I cannot stand waste," she said. "I'm the kind of person who can make something out of nothing."

"The New Works of Laura DiNello," which is currently on display at Grand Bohemian Gallery at The Mansion on Forsyth Park, features the first solo show by this popular local artist in several years. In her latest exhibit, DiNello continues to explore many of the themes for which she is best known, including anachronistic harlequin figures and elaborate nudes.

DiNello typically glues tiny cut-out canvas squares, diamonds and triangles to the surface of her mixed-media paintings, creating mosaic-like portraits and still lifes that she varnishes to a high-gloss sheen. Her distinctive fragmented style has a puzzle-like quality that delights collectors in New York and California, where her work has become quite popular in recent years.

From the languid sensuality of "Blue Saint" to the dizzy pensiveness of "Woman With Bluebird," DiNello depicts women with an air of darkness and mystery. Music-themed compositions like "Lute," "Trio" and "Blue Mandolin" reveal the artist's talent for still lifes. In addition to her mixed-media paintings, she also showcases a series of charcoal drawings featuring masked figures, nudes and horses. These drawings reveal her creative mind at work in a more spontaneous, less structured medium.

"Savannah has seen so much of my work over the years," DiNello said. "I wanted to do something a little different. I included the sketches because they balance out the show well."

Originally from Illinois, DiNello moved to Savannah in 1981 and currently lives in Statesboro. Since 1995, she has worked with Richard Kessler, the owner of The Mansion on Forsyth Park and other luxury properties across the country, creating murals and original art work for his hotels in Florida. The show at the Grand Bohemian Gallery marks her debut at The Mansion on Forsyth Park.

"We're thrilled to host her first solo exhibit in quite some time," said Brooke Raymond, director of corporate art for the Kessler Collection. "The response has been excellent."